


Extra Players

by silentsnowdrop, WhatIsThisNonsense



Series: Wouldn't It Be Nice [2]
Category: Persona 4
Genre: Multi, Robot AU, Triplet AU, written by whatisthisnonsense
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-05-03
Updated: 2017-05-03
Packaged: 2018-10-27 04:25:01
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,933
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10801653
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/silentsnowdrop/pseuds/silentsnowdrop, https://archiveofourown.org/users/WhatIsThisNonsense/pseuds/WhatIsThisNonsense
Summary: Companion side fics for Wouldn't It Be Nice; brief glimpses into he Narukami siblings outside of our favorite robot.





	1. Part 1: The Judges

**_Merciful (The Magician)_ **

Souji nudged his brother and sister forward towards the train, ignoring Yu’s sleepy protest and Kaguya’s irritated grumbling. He smiled a patient smile, as always–-you would think that after so many times moving, they would have gotten used to painfully early train rides. Yu usually _was_ , but Yu had misplaced his coffee this morning.  
  
Kaguya never did, or if she had, refused to admit it.

And so the Narukamis–-sleepy, grumpy, and patient–-took their first step onto the long train ride to Inaba. As Souji settled in his seat and watched Yu nod back off and Kaguya hunt around for whatever led to the food car, he consoled himself that at least _this_ time, they got a _year_.  
  
Maybe for once, they could all settle in and rest.

 

_**Wise (The Fool.)** _

 

Yu blinked at the contract held before him by the strange man, then blinked back up, eyebrow raising. The long-nosed creature calling himself Igor somehow managed to grin wider.

“Ahhh, looking for the fine print, I take it?” A wave of his elongated hand, obviously meant to soothe, only frayed Yu’s nerves further, even in his own dream. “Fret not; there are no obligations or strings attached. In fact, if you don’t want to sign it, you do not have to.” Even as he said it, there was a spark in his eyes that said, _At least, not_ _ **yet**_. Yu looked back down at the contract, frowning, before he let his fingers twitch forward and touch it. His named flowed from his fingertips in scrawling script, penmanship perfect and perfectly permanent. For a moment, Yu thought he saw two other names form, but the contract curled itself up and was swept off the table before he could blink. The ethereal blue lights began to dim all around him. The long-nosed creature chuckled.

“Ah, seems like that’s all the time we have for now. But we will see you again,” hummed Igor. “I do look forward to that moment, dear guest. As much as I do seeing your siblings.”  
  
Faintly, as it all grew dark, Yu could hear the quiet woman who sat next to Igor finally speak a single surprised word. “Siblings?”

 

_**Ruthless (Death)** _

 

Kaguya hated everything in general at the moment, but what she hated most was her empty stomach and the fact that Souji’s was likely emptier. She didn’t know how he was going to take care of himself once he was on his own, but for the moment, he wasn’t, and she’d be damned if she wasn’t getting breakfast.

Of course, once she had found the car, she promptly found a slovenly drunk harassing one of the attendants.  
  
“C'mooooon sweethar’–”, he slurred, grasping at the struggling, panicked attendant’s wrist with one hand and inching his other towards her rear. “Jus’ a little touch won’ hur’ none…!”  
  
His hand inched closer, but it never reached; before it could, there was a few heavy, calculated thumps before Kaguya’s own hand snaked languidly forward, gripping at the harasser. Her voice came out in an equally calculated, monotone rumble; “The lady’s not interested.”  
  
“Wha–” Distracted, the drunk let go of the attendant, who took the opportunity to skitter away a few feet, staring and still breathing heavy. The man glared as best as an inebriated man could. “Now look ‘ere, ya huh-hussy, jus’ 'cause yer too ugly t'get attention–!”

It was at that point the lady Narukami bent his fingers back and he began to yelp in pain. “What do we say?" she rumbled again.  
  
“Ow FUCK JEEZE what’s WRONG with you, lady?!”  
  
“Wrong answer.” She bent his fingers back further. “What do we say?”  
  
“OWOWOWOW LET GO, LET GO! I-I’LL CALL THE POLICE!”

“Wrong answer.” She bent his finger back so far as to feel the bones creak, on the verge of cracking. “What. Do. We. Say?”  
  
“I-I’M SORRY I'MSORRYI'MSORRY,” the drunk finally begged between pain-filled hitches. “PLEASE STOP!”  
  
“There we go.” She let go all at once, allowing him to flounder and flail off balance before taking his bruised hand back. Kaguya looked over her shoulder, first at the frightened (but no worse for wear) attendant, and then at the scattered few in the seats, many of them also drunk and staring at her with wide eyes. She paused, the wheels turning in her head as she assessed and processed, before asking with eerie, well-thought calm, “Anyone else?”

 

_**Triumvirate (The World)** _

 

The gas-station attendant blinked as she saw a hand plant on her Hope’s shoulder, a voice issuing from behind; “Hey, Yu, we got you your–” The voice trailed off as the attendant felt the Power she was slipping into the Hope slip and jerk ever so slightly into an extra– no, two extra vessels?  
  
She took the trance the Power caused as a moment to lean slightly, seeing over the Hope’s shoulder. The woman gripping his shoulder looked extraordinarily like him, expression almost as blank in the trance but slightly curled in a way that was either pain or rage. She was holding hands with another boy, one who looked exactly like her Hope except that his expression was strangely more at peace and honestly looked more like he was day-dreaming. Siblings? Could it be…?

The boy snapped out first, shaking his head with a quiet “Uh” and then blinking up. He saw the attendant. “Oh”, he said, blinking again before managing a wan smile. “Hello. We didn’t see you there.” The words seemed to draw the other two out of their reverie. The girl’s expression snapped to something more cold and carefully blank, while the Hope–-still a little spaced–-slipped his hand away from the attendant. She managed a smile.  
  
“Aw, that’s okay,” she said with practiced enthusiasm. “I got work to do anyway! You kids try to enjoy yourselves while you’re here, alright?”  
  
She waited until the Change began before she made judgments but–-ah, yes, there the other two were, these Siblings of Hope, wincing in pain as the Power began to swirl, but not so severely as the Hope himself. So it had passed on to them through him, like circuits through a conduit. Weaker, yes, but very present; the Power. The Gift.   
  
As the car drove away, Izanami looked up at the cloudy sky, willing the rain to fall and closing her eyes. A cruel half-smile formed on her face. “So”, she muttered softly. “A few extra players this round? My my, how… _interesting_.”


	2. Part 2: Snapshots

The room was small, barely fit for one person, much less three, but they'd had worse. At least their Uncle seemed to be halfway decent. And God, wasn’t Nanako just the cutest thing? They could all agree on that at least; Yu with his paternal instinct, Souji with his general sweetness, and Kaguya with her weakness for and desire to protect the helpless and small.  
  
What they couldn’t agree on is how much Kaguya should swat Yu for humming overly-catchy pop music as he shifted the boxes around to make room for their futons.  
  
–

They all woke up differently; Yu sharply before the dream faded from his mind, Souji with a yelp, hand at his throat, and Kaguya nearly springing upright on her feet, hand clawing at her lungs and teeth bared.  
  
What had disrupted them so at night, they couldn’t say.   
  
–

Kaguya blinked as Nanako squeaked at her–-still in the red long-sleeved shirt and the blue fleecy bottoms covered in stars that she called pajamas–-before she realized her stuffed rabbit had somehow managed to get her head. She sighed, taking the old, tattered thing down from its perch and turning her head to shout up the stairs, “Okay, who’s the wise guy who put Tsuki on my skull?”

–

“Awright, shut your traps!”, Morooka roared over his students once they were in the classroom. “I’m Kinshiro Morooka, your homeroom teacher from today forward! First things first!” He snorted, and the Narukamis couldn’t help but compare him to a really short, ugly bull. “Just ‘cause it’s spring doesn’t mean you can swoon over each other like love-struck baboons! Long as I’m around, you students are going to be as pure as the driven snow, or _suspended_!”

From the look of their classmates, they couldn’t believe this shit either.

–

Souji winced in sympathy for the over-layered ginger as the green-clad girl–-Chie, right?–-crit-hit him in the danger zone. As the poor boy doubled over and hissed (in a way that Kaguya would call melodramatic later when they actually _knew_ ), Souji made a motion towards him to help, only to be stopped by Yu. He looked at his brother, who shook his head, solemnly.  
  
“Leave him be.”

–

The housewives heard a deep rumble of “How _dare_ you” from behind them. When they turned, they came face to face with a towering, glowering silver-headed girl, with boys much like her on either side (one deadpan and the other with a deep, disappointed frown) and two very different girls just behind them, clearly startled and uncomfortable.  
  
“So death is a _spectator sport_ now, I take it?”, the girl rumbled again, her eyes flashing lightning to match her thunder. By luck, it was then that the head detective–-the silver-headed children’s uncle–-took notice of the gaggle of gossipers.

–

“Don’t worry; unlike your brother, who is free to come and go, we will call when we need you. It’s not quite normal procedure for guests–-we haven’t had so many at once in a long time, and never under such interesting circumstances–-but you’re not normal guests, now are you?”  
  
–

Souji looked up and frowned when Dojima mentioned car trouble for the second time since the triplets had arrived. “Do you want me to look at it?”

–

The lady Narukami grunted as she pulled at the flailing captive of the trashcan, trying to heave him out. “Christ, what do you _eat_?”

–

As Yosuke briefly excused himself, Yu caught Chie’s gaze. He mouthed, gesturing to the pale-haired girl the ginger was talking to, “ _girlfriend?_ ”, to which Chie smirked, shaking her head and mouthing back “ _he wishes_ ”.

–

Nanako marveled when her cheerful little parroting of the Junes theme was in turn echoed in triplicate.

–

His siblings yelped in alarm at the girl spinning on TV, cursing ( _Kaguya_ ) and sputtering technobabble of how that should be completely impossible with the TV unplugged ( _Souji_ ). Yu didn’t hear it, not really; the voice that rang in his head, pounding so loud that even his siblings seemed to flinch, filled most of his ears and made his sight swim.

**“** _**Split though my true self be** _

_**Together bound eternally** _

_**And in time you’ll come to see** _

_**I am thou** _

_**Thou art—”**_  
  
Yu pitched forward towards the TV.


	3. Part 3: The Backside Of The TV

“I’m just saying,” Kaguya replied patiently, like a parent explaining something to their child and not someone half hanging between TV and some twilight zone on the other side, “that it’s quite spacious in here.”

“Spacious?! SPACIOUS?!”

She proceeded to tune out the ensuing ruckus of the ginger, the girl, and her two siblings who _told her not to do it what kind of a reaction did you expect_ and looked…down, she supposed? It would be the direction of down if it was the world outside, and that was enough. She leaned in a bit further, squinting against the pulsating monochrome. Somewhere in the black and white, there was the faintest glimmer of yellow.

“Hey, I think there’s something down–”

At that point she finally noticed that her siblings arms were around waist, followed by feeling it as someone–-from the muffled squawk, probably Yosuke–-tripped and crashed into her, dragging the entire group into the screen. There was a single, sickening moment where her sleep-starved brain realized she really should have just pulled her hand _out_ instead of sticking more of her _in_ , but by then, it was far too late, and she, her brothers Yosuke, and Chie all collapsed through the screen and down through the pulsating world behind the TV.

It was impossible to fall forever, of course, but to feel like you were falling forever, _ah_. That was much easier to produce. All one needed was a concoction of fear, sense deprivation, and a pulsing, monochromatic color scheme, and suddenly the illusion of an eternal fall would spring forth, causing its intended victims no end of terror and screaming.

But all illusions must fade in the end, and this one faded with a very painful _thump_.

Yu rubbed his face as he sat up, grimacing. “Ugh, Kaguya, this is why I told you not to–”  
  
Souji, at the same time, let out a groan; “Kaguya, for pity’s sake, why would you even–”  
  
“Why the fuck is everything static-y?”, Kaguya intoned flatly from where she lay, silencing both her brothers as they blinked and rubbed at their eyes, staring.

Everything _was_ static-riddled, though how that could be when they were there in person was impossible to say. Static-riddled, fog-ridden, and a very obnoxious shade of yellow, would be a more precise description–-even as the Narukamis stood and made their way towards the protesting groans of the other two who fell in, they could hardly see in front of their noses for the visual white (yellow?) noise.

“Holy shit,” Yosuke commented eloquently as he sat up, in a way that sounded suspiciously like creaking. Souji squinted at the familiar sound, but was instantly distracted by Chie’s comment.

“Is–-is this a dream? Am I dreaming?” She sounded desperately hopeful about the idea this was all a dream.

“Not unless we’re having the same dream,” Yosuke replied shakily. Kaguya sighed before she held out both her hands, pulling them up (and huffing once more a ‘what do you eat’ at Yosuke under her breath) before squinting at them in the fog.

“Are you all okay?” It was a stupid, shallow question, but probably valid. Yosuke grimaced and rubbed his lower back.

“I think my butt’s cracked now.”

“Wh–-are you SERIOUS?!” The siblings could faintly make out Chie throwing her hands up in exasperation, and a brief moment of amused relief fell upon them before Yu took the opportunity to turn to Kaguya. He couldn’t give her a look, but she got the idea.  
  
“Satisfied now?”  
  
“Well I didn’t exactly plan to get pushed in but–-yes. Where’s the exit?”

There was a pause.  
  
“…Guuuuuys,” Kaguya rumbled. “Where. Is. The. Exit?”  
  
“We heard you,” Souji meeped. “Just…I don’t see one?”  
  
“Me either,” Yu muttered.  
  
“Well, I mean,” Chie spluttered in a nervously-cheerful manner, “All we have to do is look the way we came, right?”  
  
Yosuke wasn’t so willing to fake optimism. “That would be up.”  
  
Another pause.  
  
“ _ **…Kaguyaaaaaaaa,**_ ” Yu rumbled.   
  
“ _I didn’t expect to be pushed in, alright_?” she hissed back before letting out an irritable huff and looked around, trying to use her height to her advantage and failing. “Look, can anyone else see _anything_? If we see a door or a path, then it’ll lead somewhere that’s not here, and that’s at least a step in the right direction.”  
  
“I…think I can see.” Everyone turned to the vague shape of Yosuke they could make out. He sounded less he thought he could see and more like he could see and was very hesitant about admitting the fact. “Yeah—yeah, I think there’s a path over there.” The silhouette gestured in a direction that looked more like static-riddled yellow. Souji chewed on his lip.  
  
“You’re sure?”  
  
“Y-yeah. Yeah, definitely.”  
  
The Narukamis attempted to look at each other. The silhouette marking Kaguya shrugged before turning back to Yosuke.

“Lead on, Hawkeye.”

–

“Hey, guys, where are we?” Chie interjected. She had finally managed to get enough breath back from their trek, now that they had stopped for a rest. “It feels different.”

“I remember stairs on the way to this particular spot, and thus I know that this place already sucks,” Yu replied, managing to be deadpan in between heavy inhales.  
  
“Sums it right up,” his sister agreed from somewhere flat on the ground. Souji just wheezed. Yosuke tapped his foot impatiently, his head turning this way and that.  
  
“C'mon guys, you don’t really wanna stay in one spot in this creepy place, do you?”   
  
“No”, Kaguya drawled, still muffled from the floor, “but I also don’t want to die of oxygen deprivation.” Souji gave another wheeze that she liked to think was an agreement, and the group fell silent once more.

–

When they finally pressed forward (only feeling slightly better, at least in the sense that Souji could use his words instead of wheeze now), they were relieved to find the static and fog slowly thinning around them.  
  
They were somewhat less relieved at the location.  
  
It seemed vaguely like an apartment complex or a hotel. The fog–-which still covered the ground below and behind–-and the static–-which everyone had given up entirely on wondering about–-made it hard to tell, but they could barely make out a city-like horizon past the railing. The group themselves stood on a small, exposed hallway. There were dips in the wall where the teenagers could almost imagine doors, but on closer inspection they could tell there was nothing but solid concrete there.

Well, at least until you got to the red glow directly in front of them. It didn’t look like anything one would call a door, what with its pulsing and ominous black swirl in the center, but the light drew you in all the same, begging all who viewed to cross the threshold. Before they knew it, the weary teenagers stood right before the rectangular portal, staring at it like it might attack them. Chie looked at Yosuke. Yosuke looked at Kaguya. Kaguya looked at Souji. Souji looked at Yu. Yu just stared blankly ahead.  
  
There was a pause before he shrugged and stepped through.  
  
The first thing you noticed upon entering was that it seemed to be a hotel room. Not fancy, but not god awful either; just a room. If it wasn’t for the blood splattering the walls, it would’ve been downright boring and a bit insulting for an interior decorator.

“Oh my g–” Chie gagged on her own breath as she stepped in. Yosuke didn’t even manage a word, just an almost-inhuman gurgle of horror.

The second thing you noticed, by the by, was the fact there was blood splattering the walls.

Blood and posters, to be very specific. The walls were coated in dried, crusty red and images of some woman–-familiar, but no-one was able to put their finger on exactly why as they came through into the eerie scene–-with her face torn out of each poster. The entire room was a shrine of absolute and utter hate. The piece d’resistance, and the third thing you noticed when entering the room, however, dangled from the center of the ceiling downward, swinging ever so slightly like there was a breeze or a body on it, terrifying only for its simplicity and meaning; a noose, made of cables and a frayed, pink scarf, mocking itself and the trio staring at it with how girlish and lively the loop was, as if it were fashionable to slip your neck through and jump from the chair below.

“…Nooses are bad,” Yu eventually breathed, voice forced to stay as even as it could and his straight face managing to stay in place.  
  
“Creepy posters are also bad,” Souji whispered, edging closer to his siblings and tugging on their shirts as if to pull them away from the horror.

“Blood on the walls is the worst,” Kaguya stated, completely flat and non-plussed. “Let’s get the hell out of here.” A very emphatic chorus of agreements sounded through the group as they quickly turned around. Chie was closest to the door, and thus exited first. Her scream came almost immediately after, causing the others to rush in panic over the threshold in some misguided hope to help her, whatever misfortune had occurred. However, the moment they all stepped through, there was almost an audible record-scratch as everyone halted, stunned and confused.

Kaguya regained her voice first. “…Why is a teddy bear blinking at us?”  
  
That wasn’t an entirely a correct description of the short, furry plush toy currently standing in the pathway; it appeared more to be a very short bear in a clown costume. Rather, it appeared to be a _costume_ of a very short bear in a clown costume–-with the fog so thin, details like the zipper about where its neck was were easier to discern.

Yu managed to choke down his instinctive flat “ _what,_ ” which was good because at that moment Yosuke and Chie found their voices as well.  
  
“Wh-what the hell–?” yelped Yosuke. “Chie what– What did you do, how did you even–?!”

“Why are you asking me, I dunno! It just showed up and startled me, why would I know–?!”

“Who are you guys?” asked the bear, managing to be the most coherent of the lot. The entire group flinched, particularly Yosuke.

“Holy– It can talk!” The tiny thing seemed more insulted about that than anything else and it–- _he? Sounds like a he,_ thought Kaguya as she tilted her head, blinking at what she discerned was a him–-proceeded to scowl up at the teens, making a noise that was assumed to be the squeakiest, least-threatening threatening growl ever heard by man.

“Of course I can--I am a bear!” the little thing squawked, as if that explained his mastery of the human tongue. He curled his fists and stood on his tip toes, failing miserable to make himself look any bigger. “Whatever, it doesn’t matter–-what are you doing here? Don’t you know you’re stirring up–”

“Do we look like we know what we’re doing here?!” Chie bellowed. The bear jumped, dropping his (terrible) tough facade and looking absolutely terrified, first of the girl in green, then of something he seemed to sense in the surrounding area. He glanced left and right in jerky jolts, gesturing with his mitten-like hands.

“Shhhh-shh-shh, don’t shout! You’ll attract the Shadows!”  
  
“The WHAT–?! Listen you, you better start–-” Chie began to loom forward, fear transmuted into anger, but Yosuke suddenly grabbed her, clapping a hand over her mouth. It was too late to keep the bear in front of them from cowering again, but the look on his face was enough to tell everyone that whatever the plush toy was sensing, he was sensing too. That on its own was scary enough to make Chie go quiet again. The Narukamis all looked at the bear, then at each other.  
  
Kaguya didn’t bother waiting to reach a consensus, but her brothers shared a glance when she leaned down next to the shivering bear, one that said they couldn’t really bring themselves to be surprised. If she noticed, she ignored them, resting her arms on her knee and ducking her head, looking as small as she could. “Hey,” she murmured, minding to keep her voice down. “It’s okay, we’re not gonna hurt you.” A pair of wibbly brown eyes looked up at her, and it was all she could do to keep her face a gentle neutral. Her voice dropped lower, softer. “I promise. It’s okay.”  
  
“Mmmn…” The bear lifted his head a little further, his ears perking up a bit from where they had pinned flat against his bulbous head. He glanced at the girl, the silver-haired boys behind her, and the boy and the girl to their side, before rubbing once more at his eye and nodding.

“…Mm'kay.”


End file.
